Right To Freedom

Fundamental Rights

The first ever written document which had basic human rights encrypted in it was Magna Carta which was made in England in the year 1215. Although human rights came on writing in the 13th century, it took a couple more centuries for it to come to India after the revocation of colonial rule. It’s ironic how the country which first documented human rights snatched it from other countries

In India, the basic human rights are known as fundamental rights which are inspired from the bill of rights of the U.S constitution. The primary purpose behind the framing of fundamental rights in India was to secure the political freedom of its citizens. The social and economic freedoms of Indians are secured by the Directive of State Principles. 

Fundamental Rights are called so because of certain reasons, one of which is that these rights are essential for a dignified survival of humans in a society and the other one is that fundamental rights lead to the overall development of an individual. Also, it is one of the souls of the Indian constitution and even though the constitution is a living document, no disruption can be made to the fundamental rights as well as the directive of state principles and the preamble.

Salient Features

(1) Check on the unlimited powers of the state- The fundamental rights in India are provided to its people in order to avoid any tyranny of the state. Every human being has certain basic rights that cannot be violated in India under normal circumstances.

(2) Available against the state- Fundamental rights are used and are available against the state and not a private individual. Here, the state is defined under article 12 of part 3 of the Indian constitution as courts, government and all the legal entities under the control or authorization of the government.

(3) Fundamental rights are not absolute- This means that in the need of the hour such as national emergency or any unavoidable circumstances, certain restrictions can be imposed on fundamental rights as they are not rigid or absolute.

(4) Fundamental rights can be suspended during an emergency- It has been stated in the Indian constitution that the fundamental rights can be suspended in the state of national emergency with the exception of article 20 that gives protection regarding conviction for offences and article 21 which gives the right to life and personal liberty.

(5) Basic structure of the constitution cannot be changed- This is one of the most prominent features related to the fundamental rights which states that irrespective of the number of amendments, revocation or addition in the constitution, its basic structure which is the preamble, the fundamental rights and the directive of the state principles cannot be changed in any circumstances as it will destroy the soul of the Indian constitution.

Right To Freedom 

Whenever Indians think of freedom, they directly link it with the Independence gained on 15th August, 1947 which is more like a half truth to the aspect of freedom The reason behind this is that, when the country got independence, only the power of control was transferred from the British to the Indian leaders but the whole country was still fighting and was far from exercising its basic human rights and finding a dignified life after being treated like slaves for almost two centuries. 

When the power came in the hands of Indian leaders and the constitution was framed, fundamental rights came into existence giving people the right to freedom.

Right to freedom is a fundamental right and cannot be violated under normal circumstances by the state. However, it can be restricted or suspended for a certain period because of any national emergency. This fundamental right is covered under 5 articles listed as article 19, article 20, article 21, article 21A and article 22. All these articles state the right to freedom in different aspects and are discussed below.

Right to democratic freedom- This is covered under a where people of India has six democratic freedoms which can be exercised by them at any point of time against the state. First one is the freedom of speech and expression which is the most important of all the other sub heads under right to freedom. Under this, every person irrespective of their backgrounds has the right to speak up for themselves but it should not harm the dignity and respect of other citizens as they possess the very same rights.

The second one is the freedom to assemble peacefully without arms and ammunition. This right gets restricted when IPC section 144 comes into action due to any emergency or national threat on government orders. Third is the right to form an association which allows every person to come and interact with any other person of their choice irrespective of any disparity or differences. 

After this comes the right to freedom of movement which earlier did not apply in the state of Jammu and Kashmir but after the revocation of article 370, right to freedom of movement can fully exercised in the country. Last one is freedom of profession, occupation, trade and business of one’s own choice and every person can exercise this. All these rights cannot be snatched away under any circumstances.

All the democratic rights are given to the citizen against any sort of state actions. One can raise their voice against any action taken by the state or any decision made which can lead to the state using its power in a negative way but the right to freedom will protect the citizen against any such action. If any of the above situations happens, a person can seek the help of the Supreme Court which will not just protect the fundamental rights but also condemn and punish the state for their actions.

Right against conviction for offences- This right is given to the people with criminal charges. Under this a person with criminal charges is also considered equally human and deserving of respect as other citizens of the country. This right cannot be suspended or restricted in any sort of national emergency, even if the country goes on war. This article restricts any kind of unwanted harassment of the convicts. 

This is covered under article 20 of the part 3 of the Indian constitution. This article applies to all the citizens as well as aliens and enemy aliens to the country. Here, alien means a person who is from a different country and enemy alien’s means a person who is from a different country which does not have good relations with India.

Protection of life and personal liberty- This right is covered under article 21 of the Indian constitution which states that irrespective of the circumstances, a person will never be deprived of their alright to life and personal liberty. Although this is violated when a person gets a life sentence of hang till death, the reason behind this is that the law does not permit any person to use their rights to encroach upon the rights of other people. 

If anything as such happens, the person violating these rights can be condemned and punished even though it leads to the revocation of their right to life and personal liberty.

The right to protection of life and personal liberty is created to restrict the powers of the state and to avoid its tyranny. Under this a person cannot be arrested without any right reason and even after getting arrested, the person can defend themselves and take a stand for themselves in front of the judiciary.

Right to education- This right is covered under article 21A which was included in the right to freedom by the 87th amendment act of 2002, where it was considered as the fundamental right of all the citizens from the age of 6 years to 14 years to get a compulsory education from the state. 

Right to protection from arrest and detention- In order to secure the rights of a larger and responsible section of the society which abides by law, it is important to restrain the rights of certain people who violate the laws which will maintain peace. But it might happen that many times restrictions can be imposed on the whims and fancies of certain people. In order to protect the society from illegal restrain of rights, protection against arrest and detention is given. This right is covered under article 22 which completes article 21.

All the rights to freedom are carefully framed to protect the citizens of the country in every way from any disparity or offence but one should always keep in mind that these rights are against the state and not an individual because every person has equal rights and if a person exercises their right to encroach someone else’s rights, then their own rights will be restrained.

Conclusion

We’ve tried to list all the details on the right to freedom in this article. Hope the students will develop a clear concept of the right to freedom after going through this article thoroughly.